Visa Formalities / Tourist Visa
Visitors wishing to stay in the kingdom for more than 15 days must apply for an entry visa from a Thai diplomatic mission in any country. In the event there are no Thai diplomatic missions in their home country, they may apply to a mission in a neighboring country.
When a person is a national of a country with no Thai embassy or consulate, he also can write to the Immigration Division at Soi Suan Phlu, Sathorn Tai Road, Bangkok, and ask for a letter of permission which, if granted, can be used for entry to Thailand in lieu of a visa.
A visa must be used within a period of 90 days from the date of issue; unless an extension is obtained, it otherwise becomes void. The tourist visa permits a stay of up to 60 days. It can be extended once by 30 days.
Extensions
Tourist visas can be extended by one month at Thai immigration offices. The immigration head office is on Soi Suan Phlu off Sathorn Thai Rd. To get there by bus from the Sukhumvit Road area, one rides a No 1, 8, 11 or 13 aircon bus or a No 2, 25, 40 or 48 non-aircon bus up to the intersection of Ploenchit Rd and Witthayu Rd (Wireless Rd). From there a No 62 non-aircon bus passes by the immigration offices (coming that way, one will see it at the left side).
The procedure of extending a visa is simple. One fills out a form, attaches one passport picture, pays a standard fee of 500 Baht and gets the extension. Three counters have to be passed, and it’s a matter of usually around 1 hour.
Regular Trips out of the country
Those staying in Thailand on tourist visas have to leave the country every three months. This is awkward as there are no near and convenient land borders, particularly for those staying in Bangkok or Pattaya.
Most people staying longer than three months make their exit journeys to Penang, Malaysia. There is a comfortable train leaving daily at 15:15 from Hua Lamphong Railway Station for Butterworth in Malaysia, opposite the island of Penang, arriving there shortly after noon. There is an immediate ferry connection to Penang island.
Connections to Singapore are more difficult. Trains have to be changed twice, first at Butterworth and then at Kuala Lumpur. Delays in the connection from Butterworth to Kuala Lumpur will cause the passenger to miss the train from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. Travel from Singapore to Bangkok will usually mean either a day stop-over in Kuala Lumpur or a night in Butterworth.
For those who want to travel straight through from Bangkok to Singapore, it’s generally difficult to obtain a sleeper for the second night of the journey, from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. The Thai and the Malaysian railways systems are not well coordinated at present. While it is possible to buy tickets in Bangkok straight through to Singapore, there is no possibility to make reservations all the way. Reservations are possible in Bangkok only up to Butterworth.
When arriving in Kuala Lumpur the traveler will usually not have the time anymore to make an onward reservation as the reservation counter in Kuala Lumpur closes around 20:00, and that’s about when travelers from Butterworth arrive.
At the end of 1992, a luxury train connection between Singapore and Bangkok is supposed to go into service. The connection will be called Orient Express, and the cars will supposedly resemble those of the historic train that connected western Europe with Istanbul.
Continued
| 
